So What's Happening?

Location : Reading, England.

GUILTY! Apologies people! I know there has been a lack of updates last 3 weeks but life has finally caught up with me - I've been a right royal busy bee! So what's been happening?

Taka in UK
When I posted about him some time ago, he was in Morocco. Then he found out I was in the UK so he came over to hook up with me. What an honour! He said he wouldn't have come over if I wasn't here. When I saw him, he looked like he was slowly becoming a hippie - long sprouts of hair pointing in every direction(a bit like the Incredible Hulk) and unshaven. So anyway, I caught up with him and he updated me with some details of his journey so far. He started his journey from Japan on a boat across to China. From China, he travelled overland through Vietnam and Laos to Thailand which is where I met him when I was surfing in Phuket. Then he flew over to Sri Lanka, got caught up in the tsunami, survived and flew back to Thailand, down to Malaysia where we hooked up for another surf. He went on to Bali and Lombok in Indonesia then across to Australia. Back to Thailand then flew across to India, travelled overland to Pakistan then to Turkey. The next stop was Switzerland where he stayed with some friends, then he travelled on to the Netherlands, down to France, Spain and Morocco where he spent 2 months surfing. He then flew back to Amsterdam in the Netherlands, then to Switzerland again and across to the UK to meet me. He's just left on a flight back to Malaysia. All of these places, all at a whim, all one way tickets. He's been on the road for 2 years. Sigh. In all the countries he's been to, he told me he's thinking about spending some time learning English....in Malaysia. How odd. You'd think almost everyone else would want to learn English in England. Anyway, he said that Malaysians impressed him the most with their inviting warmth and kindness. Most of the people he's met back in Malaysia are mates of mine. So I guess I have cool friends. =) I've been having a steady stream of visitors...the Swedish and Malaysian contingent in June and December last year, the Danish fraternity in February this year and the Japanese samurai recently. I wonder who's next.

Annalisa Addison
I don't watch TV. I'm not much of a couch potatoe. I'd very much rather surf the Net, play some guitar, blow my speakers away, do almost anything else but watch the TV - you get my drift. But I have been hooked on the ABC TV series Lost because there's always the ocean to be seen in every episode and...Evangeline Lilly, of course. =) You could say I don't watch anything else on TV.

Anyway, I had some time to kill today and I was flipping channels. I came across Channel Four's Shipwrecked where I spotted this gorgeous girl - Annalisa Addison. I reckon you'd be nuts if you don't find her attractive in the 2 pictures above! Mixed parentage, dreamy eyes, luscious lips, angel face. Sigh. The freckles on her face may look a bit like the Andromeda constellation of stars but that's....oh so cute. Schhwwiiiiiiiiinng!

Pearl Jam in UK
This is the highlight of the year for me - if I can get my hands on any sold out tickets! A few days ago, I found out the band that changed my life will be in the same country as me. Pearl Jam are scheduled to perform in the London Astoria on the 20th of April. I SOOOO want to....need to see them. Ten years ago, I gathered round a bunch of mates to go on a road trip down to Singapore and watch them perform live in Kallang stadium. No other Seattle grunge bands have made it till that far side of the planet. When Eddie Vedder sang the first song Release, I remember I felt like a little boy who was hit by a falling star. I couldn't believe then that I was under the same roof as Pearl Jam and I can't believe now that it was 10 years ago! I just wish a ticket for the London Astoria gig will fall on me. I sent an email to everyone in my office desperately looking for tickets...then I texted everyone soul on my mobile phone begging them to look out for me. Justin responded saying he had a mate who works in Ticketmaster and he called me last Friday morning to say he could get a few. I was also looking out for other mates of mine who are fans of Pearl Jam so by the time I got back to Justin, they had all sold out. I was almost crying. I need to see Pearl Jam. I think not having made an immediate decision could be my biggest regret of the last few years. I should have known better! If you wait around too long, the precious things you consider good and treasure in your life will not wait for you. So you just gotta understand that feeling at the pit of your stomach and grab it before it disappears. I have 11 days to keep trying... After that, I might never see these "old friends" again for the rest of my life. The feeling of possibly missing out on the gig is unbearable but I'm glad I'm not the only one - see this guy's rant on ebay.

Surfing soon
It won't be long now!!! Spring is definitely here and soon it will be summer. Here comes the sun little darling! The temperature has been much much more acceptable, lingering above 10ºC since end March. Wooohooo! I remember full-on winter hit early November and it's only left late March so it was 5 long, cold winter months. The ocean will be warm in no time. The surf club will be doing another surf trip at the end of this month. This time I'll be driving my darling Babette, imagining she was a topless babe cruising in the sun. It's going to be awesome!

I have been blogging regularly since June 2003, averaging about 2 entries a week. After all this time, I am feeling...a little weary. I think it's not bad that I've only now run out of crap to say - after almost 3 years! I'm having lots of things to do, places to go, rock bands to see, girls to meet, hooking up with friends, computers to fix, waves to catch, probably even a change of jobs coming up. So guys, I need a break! I won't put the blog on a hiatus or shut it down but maybe soon it will be on a semi-hiatus. I would still post entries but on a basis that is much less frequent.

Posted by Ripcord at April 9, 2006 05:59 AM